Investigators are still trying to find out what happened during the final seconds of Flight 3407, a plane that crashed into a house in Buffalo, NY on Thursday night and killed all 49 people on board and one person in the house.
Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board said shortly before plunging into the house, the plane pitched up at an angle of 31 degrees, then down at 45 degrees. It then rolled violently to the left and right at 105 degrees. Then the planed dropped 800 feet in five seconds, causing everyone on the plane to experience up to twice the G force as they normally would on the ground.
Before the plane went down into the house about six miles away from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, the pilot reported “significant” icing on the wings and windshields. Other planes in the same area also experienced the same problem.
Chealander said the pilot may have violated the airline’s policy and federal safety recommendations for flying in icy conditions by leaving the autopilot on even after he notified air traffic control that the flight crew had spotted ice on the leading edge of the wings and the windshield.
Investigators who examined both engines said they appeared to be working normally at the time of the crash.
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